‘Dolphin carcass was dumped illegally’

A day after the carcass of a dolphin washed ashore at Marine Drive was taken to the dump yard at Deonar, environmental activists on Wednesday said the cause of its death should have been investigated before disposing of the body.

A day after the carcass of a dolphin washed ashore at Marine Drive was taken to the dump yard at Deonar, environmental activists on Wednesday said the cause of its death should have been investigated before disposing of the body.

In a letter to the municipal commissioner activists alleged the carcass was illegally dumped. Pawan Sharma, president, Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare, a not-for-profit group, who drafted the letter, said, “The disaster management cell did not follow any protocols to deal with the situation, the forest department and the police were not informed. No post-mortem was conducted, which would help understand the cause of the dolphin’s death.”

Officials from the fisheries department said an official report on the cause of its death could not be filed, as the body was dumped before an inspection could have been be conducted. But disposing of dead fish at the dumping ground is a regular process, officials of the fisheries department told HT. “Dead fish are dumped at the dumping ground to avoid getting consumed by marine life or spreading infection,” said Rajendra Jadhav, joint commissioner of fisheries.

The bruised body of the dolphin found around 6.45pm on Tuesday was picked up by a municipal van and taken to the dumping ground, said officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s disaster management cell.

SA Thorat, additional principal chief conservator of forest, wildlife department, Mumbai, said, “This act shows how authorities have not understood the Wildlife Act, which lists different animals in different schedules, which we take cognisance of. Forest and marine life authorities need to be informed about situations like this.”